Before the Alliance
by Walking in Little Circles
Summary: Rue was Katniss's ally during the Hunger Games. But what were the games like for Rue before the alliance? One-shot.
10...9…8…

I hear the numbers counting down. _This is it_ , I think to myself. _This is the moment when I find out what I'm made of._

7...6...5…

I hear Seeder's voice in my head. "You're not strong enough for the Cornucopia. You're one of the youngest competitors here. Just turn around and run."

At the time, I had agreed to her suggestion without hesitation. Now that I see the large pile in front of me, and the great expanse of forest behind me, I'm certain that I need to take something. Going into the forest without so much as a knife to defend myself with is a terrifying prospect.

4...3...2...1…

The gong sounds. I need to make my decision now. Taking a deep breath, I start running towards the Cornucopia. I hadn't gone more than a foot when I see someone get his head chopped off. I change my mind and took off running towards the forest. Seeder was right. The Cornucopia is not for me.

I grab the nearest tree and scale it as fast as I could. Seeder had said that my ability to remain concealed from my competition would be my greatest asset. _My only asset_ , I think bitterly to myself. I reach the highest branch. I check to make sure that no one is watching and take a running leap towards the next tree. I fly through the air and land without a sound. I remember the Gamemaker's faces when I showed them my tree climbing skills. They were so impressed that they gave me a seven. Thresh gave me a big clap on the back when he heard the news. "A seven! I knew they would like your tree climbing skills! Katniss Everdeen may be the Girl on Fire, but you are the Girl with wings!" I smile at the memory, but it fades once I realize that Thresh is now my enemy. Everyone in the arena is my enemy. I shiver as the screams from the Cornucopia continue to pierce the air. I quickly resume my escape.

Finally, once nightfall comes, I stop. I'm aware of the aching of my legs and chest. I've been going a long while, perhaps a bit longer than I should've. I risk climbing down a bit of the tree and lay down on a nice, thick, branch. So far, so good. I'm just about to drift off to sleep when I see an orange light in the distance.

I bolt up. Is the whole forest on fire? I panic, but I calm down once I realize that it's just a tribute's campfire. I'm jealous. It's freezing cold and I can see my breath in the air. I wonder if I could get warmer if I was closer to her campfire. The cold pieces my skin as I jump. For a moment, I feel like I'm flying. The I reach my destination. The warmth of the fire suddenly makes the forest feel cozy, almost like my bedroom at home. Thinking about home makes me sad. Will I ever see it again?

I accidentally breathe in some smoke and start coughing. I desperately muffle my cousins with my sleeve, but thankfully, the person below me is sleeping. I carefully scoot to the back of the branch to avoid inhaling too much smoke. This is much better. I need to be careful though. If the person below me looks up at just the right time, she could see me. I decide to stay awake tonight, and sleep tomorrow when it's warm out. My plan quickly disappears when it's clear that while I'm accustomed to long nights during the harvest season, I was only able to bear them because I was moving around so often. Standing still in the middle of the night next to a warm fire is just a recipe for a nap. Sure enough, despite my best efforts, I drift off to sleep.

My dreams are shattered by a loud, piercing, scream. I almost fall out of my tree.

"Please! Please no! Have mercy!" It's a girl's voice.

The cruel laughter of Cato fills my ears. The Careers have arrived. I hold my breath, hoping that they won't see me.

"A lit fire? Really?" he sneers. "It's almost like you were asking to be tracked down!"

"I can help you!" the girl offered. "I'm really good with plants! And fires! And..."

Cato swung his sword. With one swift motion, the girl was silenced. I listen to them as they go through her pack. "She has nothing good!" one of them calls.

 _She has nothing good_..I think. That probably meant that the girl still had things on her, maybe something I can use. I watch as the Careers leave, and quickly jump out of the tree. I'll have to be quick. The Gamemaker's won't fire the cannon until all tributes are out of range. If I take to long, the Careers will know something's wrong and come back. I root through the girl and manage to find a pair of socks. I can't help but grin. These will be a great help in staying warm. I also grab the string from her jacket. I'd take the whole jacket, but it's soaked with blood, and I can't bring myself to touch it. Besides, I already have a jacket of my own. Anyway, I can use the string for a slingshot.

I keep searching her, but I find nothing else. I turn to leave when I run smack into one of the Careers.

I curse myself under my breath. He has a knife out and he's too close for me to just turn around and run without getting a knife to the back. I could fight him, but he's twice my size. I promised my younger siblings that I would come back and I've broken my promise on the first day. Despite my imminent doom, I can't help but feel slightly annoyed that I lost so quickly.

"Rue?" the boy asks. "Do you need food?" he holds out a loaf of bread.

I suddenly recognize the boy as Peeta from District 12. The boy who's in love with Katniss. What's Peeta doing with the Careers? Usually, the Careers consist only of tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4.

"It's okay," Peeta says. "I didn't put anything in it. This bread's from your district." Peeta casually tosses the loaf to me.

I catch it. It still looks like regular bread to me, but bread is bread, and Peeta giving this to me is still a huge act of kindness. "Thank you," I say.

"Now get out of here. The Careers will come checking on me soon." Peeta turns around and runs off.

I take off as well. The cannon fires. I hear a sharp whistle as the hovercraft flies towards the girl's body and then carries it away. Mockingjays. Like the pin Katniss wore.

I climb up the nearest tree and see that there's a nest of Mockingjays. They seem used to humans and greet me warmly with a note. I can't resist. I whistle a note and they all pick it up perfectly. I giggle. There were a lot of Mockingjays in District 11. Seeing them all here now is like visiting home for just a moment.

I look down the other side of the tree and see a river. Farther away, I can see the Career's base camp. This is a perfect place to hide out. I'm surrounded by mockingjays, next to a source of water, and hidden in a tall tree. I crawl down and drink some water. It's delicious. I decide to make this my home for the games.

Over the next few days, I make my goal assembling weapons. I carve a stone into a sharp point and tie it onto a stick for a knife. I find a curved stick and tie the string from the girl's jacket onto it. I then go about gathering as many stones as possible and shove them into my pockets.

One day, Seeder sends me a sponsor gift, a packaged meal. I make it, as the bread ran out a few days ago. It tastes amazing. I take all of the stones out of my pocket, and wrap them in the parachute. I then tie the parachute around my belt. Now the amo for my slingshot is secure and I have more room in my pockets for more important things. As I settle down to sleep, I can't help but feel happy. I have the perfect place to hide for the rest of the games, and my stomach is full. Maybe tomorrow I can go looking for berries or some other herbs. The Careers appear to be towards the far side of the arena, so I should been able to move around without the risk of discovery by them. I slip my socks onto my hands and close my eyes to sleep.

Suddenly, my sleep was interrupted with the harsh cries of Mockingjays. I woke up to a large fire blazing everywhere. I grabbed my knife and slingshot and ran away. I realized that I had accidently left my parachute with stones up in the tree. All I can think about for the moment however is running, running as far away as possible.

How the fire came on so suddenly is beyond me, but I know I had to get out of there as quickly as possible. I raced through the forest, as fast as possible. Suddenly, a fireball appears out of nowhere and scorches my arm. I curse loudly, but get up as fast as possible and continue to run. This is definitely a fire that the gamemakers have created.

I run for what feels like forever until I run smack-dab into a pool. Soon afterwards, I hear footsteps, and race up a tree. Heart pounding, I look at who has just arrived. It was Katniss.

My burn stings and I start crying. I could take out Katniss right now, but if she were to fight back, I would be finished. Besides, I'm not sure I could bring myself to do that anyway. I remember the way Katniss volunteered for her sister, Prim. Instead, I let my tears fall onto my burn. I'm seized by a mad desire to scream, but I bite my lip and hold it in. Not yet.

I somehow must've managed to fall asleep because the next thing I know, I hear shouting through the trees. The Careers. Thankfully, Katniss wakes up and notices them too. She runs up the tree next to me and the Careers go to her tree.

My breath catches in my throat. One of the Careers has a bow, and could easily shoot Katniss if she chose too. She tries a shot, but it becomes clear that she's a bad shot. I relax again. The Careers choose to camp out under the tree until morning, where they can figure out a plan then.

Well, it looks like I'm stuck here again too. I'm about to settle in to go to sleep when I see it. A Tracker Jacker nest.

Without thinking, I signal Katniss. She notices me in the darkness. "Rue?" she asks, confused.

I slowly point to the nest. Katniss's eyes widen in recognition. She recognizes it, just like I did. Tracker Jackers are nothing to be messed with.

The anthem starts and I settle myself in for a restless night when I see Katniss trying to saw the nest down. My heart leaps into my throat. It's an incredibly risky plan, and if it fails, she and I could both die. I watch as she gets closer and closer to finishing. Suddenly, the anthem ends and the sky goes black. I sigh in relief. I have a bit more time to get things done.

I decide to stay up all night, just in case Katniss decides to release the nest down on them in the middle of the night. The cold of the night cuts through my bones.

Finally, around dawn, I hear my name. I peer out of the tree and point to the nest. Katniss makes a sawing motion with her hands. Now she tells me. Nevertheless, I'm grateful that she thought of me this time. I decide that it's time to leave and start hopping from tree to tree. Eventually, I reach another tree that's close to the river. I'm just about to settle down when I hear two cannon shots. They must have died from tracker jacker stings. I wonder briefly if Katniss was one of the shots. I hope not. I like her.

Later that night, the anthem plays and I see the faces of the girls from Districts 1 and 4. So Katniss is alive. There's no way that she got away without being stung though. Part of me wants to check on her, but the other part of me knows that she's probably close to the Career's. I decide to spy on them. If they got stung, they may be knocked out two. It would be the perfect chance to take them out…

My heart does a flip. Of course, if I want to win the Hunger Games, I need to kill at least one person. But stabbing a bunch of people in their sleep seems wrong to me. I decide to make my way to their camp anyway.

Once I get there, I find a small alcove to hide in. Unfortunately for me, three of them are awake. And they look more than ready to defend the boy from District 1 and the girl from District 2 who are passed out from the stings. I feel a rush of relief. I also see their food supply out in the open. Maybe when they're not looking one day, I can sneak some of it for myself.

I decide to hang out and spy for them for the rest of the day. They do nothing interesting except go and make food. It's kind of hard to go anywhere when two of your group are lying down sick from venom. After a while, I decide to leave. There's nothing useful that can be done squatting in a hole. I mark the hole in my memory. Maybe I can use it in stealing food one day.

I run into a bush and recognize it as carrying the anti-venom for Tracker Jacker stings. I memorize the location of that bush as well. Maybe it will come in handy someday if there are many more Tracker Jacker nests around.

I keep walking. I should really be hiding in a tree, but for some reason, I don't feel like it. I come across two more Anti-Tracker Venom bushes before I decide to settle in a tree for the night.

The next day, I manage to find a berry bush. I recognize them as non-poisonous. Grateful, I stuff them into my mouth put a few in my pocket. I see yet another Anti-Tracker bush right before I hear moaning.

Startled, I hide behind a tree. A figure rises out of a hole and I recognize Katniss. Without even thinking about it, I grab some herbs for her. She's been stung, after all, and I can't just leave her there. Maybe I can secretly leave these with her. I quickly sneak over to lay the herbs down and go. But in my haste, I accidentally snap a twig.

Katniss turns and looks right at me. I stand there frozen. She smiles at me. "The Career's are the only ones who can form alliances, you know."

I tentatively peer out from behind the tree. "You want me as an ally?"

"Of course," she says.

The two of us start talking. Katniss managed to grab a lot of things from the Cornucopia, including two night-vision goggles and a sleeping bag. Not to mention she's a superb hunter. I'm beginning to think that maybe we'll be able to make a stand against the Careers. The idea of not running from them is very appealing to me. Perhaps Katniss and I can make it through this a little bit longer. I fall asleep in Katniss's sleeping bag, hopeful for the future.


End file.
